


i don't want you like a best friend

by nonbinarynino



Series: my LBSC fics! [4]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Akuma Attack, Endgame Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, F/M, Luka Couffaine Loves Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Pre-Relationship, Temporary Character Death, Time Travel, Viperbug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:47:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27338170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nonbinarynino/pseuds/nonbinarynino
Summary: Ladybug is, simply put, a beast.Viperion, of course, means that in the best way possible.
Relationships: Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: my LBSC fics! [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1943359
Comments: 8
Kudos: 103
Collections: LBSCSprintFicChallenge





	i don't want you like a best friend

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the LBSC prompt: 3. “I know we said 'Til death do we part but we never covered undeath.“
> 
> Write me on tumblr: sapphicmarinette
> 
> (There is very minor Chat salt, but it's honestly just me projecting on how much I hate the phrase 'm'lady' and has nothing to do with Chat whatsoever)

Ladybug is, simply put, a beast.

Viperion, of course, means that in the best way possible. She’s firm without being mean, a natural leader without being too authoritative, and nice without being a pushover. She is strong and capable, and Viperion cannot think of a better team leader.

(… Besides maybe, like, an adult, but that has less to do with Ladybug’s capabilities and more so to do with the anger that she has so much on her shoulders in the first place.)

Ryuko and Rena Rouge (and Chat Noir, of course) have also joined today’s fight. Viperion’s not entirely sure what’s going on – he's heard the explosions, and he's seen a handful of zombies. But the actual akuma…? Viperion has _no_ idea where it is.

He worries that Ladybug doesn’t know either.

“Alright, here’s what is going to go down,” Ladybug says, snapping Viperion out of his concerns. “Chat, I need you and Rena Rouge to go to the ceremony at city hall and get everybody _out_ of there. Wherever Death Wish is now, it’ll be headed there eventually, and we just simply cannot deal with that many zombies. The press is definitely going to be there, so take that into account.”

“Gotcha, m’lady,” Chat says. Viperion still can’t figure out why she lets him call her that. “We’ll evacuate the civilians and I’ll find a journalist to give a statement to.”

“Ryuko, can you handle a solo mission?” Ladybug does not wait for a response – after all, it is very easy to tell that Ryuko thrives in that exact sort of environment. Viperion’s only met her twice, and it’s clear as day. “The biggest herd is at the hotel on 4th. I need you to contain them as best you can. Once Chat and Rena are done at city hall, they’ll help.”

The others scatter shortly after being told what to do. “You’re with me,” Ladybug says. “I know exactly where Death Wish is, and you’re the only person who can bring me back from the dead.”

Viperion swallows. Jeez, Ladybug does not chill when it comes to adding pressure. “’Till death do us part,” he says, hoping for it to be a joke, but it falls flat.

“I _believe_ in you,” Ladybug insists. “I chose you for a reason, you know.”

Viperion tries to pretend that she's not implying that she's somebody he _knows._

“Here,” she says, oblivious to his internal plight, and pushes something into his hands. “They’re earplugs. Death Wish gets you with his scream, and these will make you unable to detect that frequency at all.”

“You keep them,” Viperion says, keeping his hands outstretched. She doesn’t take them back, instead putting her hands right back by her side. “None of this means anything if you fall.”

“That’s not true this time,” Ladybug says, with a faint little smile. “Not when you’re the only one who can turn back time.”

“Ah,” he replies, since there is nothing really left to say to that. He pushes the earplugs into his ears. “Well, let’s get started then, Ladybug.”

* * *

According to Ladybug, Death Wish has a primary target. It’s not city hall – it’s the opera theater.

“He wants to show the world what life would be like without the arts,” Ladybug explains as she leads the way. Viperion tries his best to listen to every word that comes out of her mouth, even though the wind and the panic makes it a bit difficult. “Lifeless. Dull. I wasn’t lying when I said that he was heading to city hall, because that’s next on his list, but I’m hoping to catch him here.”

Irrationally, Viperion worries that Marinette is at the opera theater. She has never proclaimed a love for opera specifically, but she is an avid patron of the arts. What if tonight is the night that she had decided to give it a shot? “I hope Marinette’s not there,” he says.

Ladybug skids a little on one of her landings but manages not to completely trip. “Marinette,” she repeats, voice incredibly high-pitched. Even through his earplugs, he can tell that she’s frazzled. “Marinette…? Which one?” Ah. She must have a friend with that name.

“Dupain-Cheng,” Viperion explains, curious that Ladybug seems to know more than one. The only Marinette he knows is the one that he’s in love with. “She’s a good friend of mine. I don’t think she particularly likes opera, but… you never know with that girl.” He tries to keep the fondness out of his voice, but he doesn’t have to be a genius to know that it won’t work. “She just… wants to try absolutely everything, and I love that about her, but jeez, it means she could be at _every_ akuma attack, so I always worry.”

“I see,” Ladybug replies after a moment. “I’ll keep an eye out for her, then. I remember what she looks like.”

“Thank you, Ladybug,” Viperion says. “It’d mean a lot.” He’s primarily glad that she’s in front of him, because then she cannot see the dopey look on his face that he gets whenever anyone mentions Marinette.

“Of course,” Ladybug says, stopping on the last rooftop, across from the theater. “This is where he’s heading, but he’s not here yet. His voice is his only long-range weapon, so we should be good up here.”

“Okay,” Viperion replies, if not only to confirm that he has heard her. “Should I use my Second Chance now?”

Ladybug hesitates. “Do you hear that- that thumping? He’s coming. Start it now.”

“Of course, Ladybug,” Viperion says, and slides back the snake head on his miraculous.

“I should use my Lucky Charm soon, too,” she says. “I’ll wait till he’s close.” She goes quiet for a moment, but it’s a heavy silence, so Viperion does not dare to interrupt. “This is reminding me of Zombizou,” Ladybug mutters. “I hated that one.”

“Why that one, more than usual?” Viperion asks. “If you’re comfortable sharing, that is.”

Ladybug shrugs, a big gesture. “Everyone was so insistent that I’d save everyone. I was so nervous that their trust was misplaced.” She turns around to face him, fixing him with a smile. “You know, I’m glad that you’re…”

A high-pitched scream echoes through the area, and Ladybug falls to the ground of the rooftop, dead.

“Shit,” Viperion says, and rewinds time. He doesn’t want to wait around to see what she looks like as a zombie.

* * *

“Ladybug, there’s a scream in thirty seconds,” Viperion says as soon as he gets back. “On the street, one block west.”

“Gotcha,” she says. “I’m going in now. Be ready to turn it back again.”

Viperion doesn’t want to linger on that – how she’s so ready to charge into death on the promise that he’ll make sure it never happens. “Loud and clear.” She’s already zipping away, leaving him to chase after her.

Death Wish is in the middle of the street – ripped clothes, green skin, a classic Hollywood zombie. He’s snarling, but – there’s nobody around who needs to be transformed into a zombie. So what makes him scream? Ladybug seems to have similar questions, because she’s hesitating before jumping into the fray, as if something isn’t quite right.

Then, it happens – the doors of the opera theater burst open, a few dozen civilians immediately scurrying out. Death Wish notices them, and –

Viperion rewinds.

* * *

“Scream in thirty seconds, one block west, he screams because people leave the opera theater,” he explains in a rush, not wanting to waste any valuable time. “Otherwise, no one around, I don’t think he’ll scream.”

“He’s only looking at street level, if you go in through the rooftop, you’ll be fine. Keep them inside. That’ll give me enough time to use my Lucky Charm,” Ladybug explains.

“Yes,” Viperion agrees, and beelines for the opera theater’s rooftop hatch.

* * *

He comes straight back out of the hatch two minutes later, hoping that his actions have prevented him from having to fight a zombified Ladybug. Luckily, she’s crouched down on the opera rooftop, holding a red-and-black lasso.

Thank God. He never wants to know what Ladybug looks like as a zombie. _‘Till death do us part,_ he’d said. That joke had never meant to cover _undeath._

“What’d I miss?” Viperion asks, crouching down right next to her.

“Not much,” she replies, maintaining a whisper. “Chat buzzed – city hall and the hotel are both contained and evacuated, so they’re heading here now. I’m thinking that Rena’s mirage will help keep him quiet.”

“Smart,” he says. It's a compliment that Ladybug must get all of the time, but it's true, just the same. “Think it’ll be fine if my Second Chance runs its course?”

“Should be,” she answers. She has a weird tilt to her voice when she asks, “Was Marinette in there?”

“No,” Viperion replies. He'd kept an eye out for black pigtails, but he knew that Marinette wouldn't have been cowering under a table in there. She would have been keeping everybody calm. “It almost makes me more worried. I’ll have to text her when I get home.”

“I’m sure that she’s okay,” Ladybug reassures him. She sounds weirdly... certain. He supposes that she must be confident in her abilities, but it's a weird contrast from the "misplaced trust" conversation about Zombizou earlier. “Do you worry about all of your friends so much?”

“Of course,” Viperion says, surprised that she’d even ask that. Everyone he loves is doomed to be worried about. He still texts Juleka at noon to make sure she's eating lunch. “To be fair, I am also in love with Marinette. Might bias things.”

"Oh," Ladybug says, after quite some time. "That's good." She sounds... giddy, almost. Relieved.

Viperion doesn't dare hope to why that might be.

.

.

.

 **from:** Luka  
hey mari! you okay? haven't heard from you and i know that the akuma today was pretty intense.

**from:** Marinette <3  
aww, that's so sweet! thanks!!!! i'm okay!  
completely unrelated, want to go on a date with me tomorrow? at 6?

**from:** Luka  
okay!


End file.
